Sure, I can recommend one. Although I聮m not one of those people that uses one often. I know when I聮m working hard and not working hard. To me, what my heart rate is at the time is somewhat academic. To be sure, there are good training programs to be had that make tracking heart rate a key component.
The FT60You don聮t say whether it聮s for cycling, hiking, running, or what. A wrist-mounted one gives you the versatility to use it wherever you wish. 聮s FT60 ($230) does all the standard stuff checking heart rate, high and low heart-rate alarms, time in heart zone you desire, and calories burned. You can download to a PC and check your progress over time as well. A nice unit.
聮s FR60 offers very similar features for a slightly lower price ($200). Does all the same heat rate things, connects wirelessly to a PC or Mac, even works as an everyday watch. The Garmin includes a foot pod that measures distance traveled, which Garmin claims is 98 percent accurate.
And…‘s T4C ($219) duplicates the offerings of the other, and also has a Suunto “Coach” feature that evaluates your condition and suggests how to pick up the pace.
I dunno if that $200 range constitutes a “mint” or not. You can easily spend around $400 on a unit that includes GPS coverage (Garmin 405CX). Or, drop to $100, and lose the PC connectivity but get the basis (Polar聮s nicely basic F4).